Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience.

The prose style is a bit overwhelming. I had to read the first sentence several times and I’m still not sure I know what it meant. Sorry, not for me. DNF

Sadly this could have been a five star book but the author made the character appear to be a bit thick and naive for the hot shot lawyer she was meant to be. The plot was fine but it became apparent very early on that Allison was not the one in trouble and all the suspense was dissipated. The book however was entertaining enough to give three stars. I did like the trawl through old tech of dial up computing, bringing back memories of myself travelling and using the old tech. Perhaps if the author had concentrated more on the suspense it would have been worthy of better praise.

This sounded an unusual story and setting. Until I got into reading it, I hadn't realised it was set a couple of decades back when the internet, smartphones etc were a lot less sophisticated. Unfortunately now , that all feels a little dated and I wonder why that time frame was chosen, or has it just taken a really long time to get published? The main character was a strange one, making numerous dodgy decisions (starting with her blindly following her partner across the globe when he clearly didn't want her to!). The sex elements are a little OTT for my taste, but each to their own. Still, the story was sufficiently interesting to keep me reading until the end.

Our heroine Alison Crane is an unemployed environmental lawyer living only semi-invited in Tokyo with her corporate lawyer boyfriend. Ali isn't the most likable heroine because why did she quit her job and follow her boyfriend Charles to Japan when he didn't really want her to and also she's kind of a doofus about the internet (it's the mid- or late 1990s, so fair), but she is a confident Black woman, who fights back.

I found this book to be interesting. It’s not typically the sort of genre I read, but it was fun to read something new and different. The storyline was written well and very easy to follow. I highly recommend.